Bikers rally in Norwalk for 15th CT United Ride in tribute to Nine Eleven

By FRANCIS CARR Jr.Hour Staff Writer

Published 5:15 am, Monday, August 31, 2015

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Hour photo/Matthew Vinci

The 15th annual CT United Ride, Connecticut's largest 9/11 Tribute in New England, takes off from Norden Place in Norwalk on Sunday.

Hour photo/Matthew Vinci

The 15th annual CT United Ride, Connecticut's largest 9/11 Tribute in New England, takes off from Norden Place in Norwalk on Sunday.

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In this file photo, The 15th Annual CT United Ride, CT's largest 9/11 Tribute in New England takes off from Norden Place in Norwalk on Sunday. Hour photo/Matthew Vinci

In this file photo, The 15th Annual CT United Ride, CT's largest 9/11 Tribute in New England takes off from Norden Place in Norwalk on Sunday. Hour photo/Matthew Vinci

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Hour photo/Matthew Vinci

A biker's helmet rests atop a handlebar during the 15th Annual CT United Ride on Sunday.

Hour photo/Matthew Vinci

A biker's helmet rests atop a handlebar during the 15th Annual CT United Ride on Sunday.

Bikers rally in Norwalk for 15th CT United Ride in tribute to Nine Eleven

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NORWALK — In the blue shadow of an enormous American flag hung between the baskets of two Norwalk Fire Department ladder trucks, a cavalcade of motorcyclists rode into Norden Park for a rally preceding the start of the 15th CT United Ride: a man in a blue firefighter's uniform, chewing a cigar; a white-haired woman with a star-spangled kerchief tied around her head; a purple-shirted biker wearing a helmet painted to look like a watermelon rind. A white quadcopter drone hovered near the flag.

Following the rally and a ceremony featuring speakers including Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, State Majority Leader Bob Duff, and event organizer Frederick Garrity Jr., the bikers and their passengers embarked on a scenic ride following a circuitous 55-mile route snaking through Westport, Wilton, Georgetown, Redding, Bethel, Newtown, Trumbull and Fairfield before terminating at Seaside Park in Bridgeport.

Event volunteer Jim Curley estimated that between 2,500 and 3,000 bikers and passengers would participate in this year's ride; more than 1,000 signed up during Saturday's pre-registration.

"It's grown from only a few hundred the first year," Curley told The Hour.

Trumbull resident Frederick Garrity has been organizing the event each year since its inception in September 2001, as a fundraiser for New York City charities immediately following the attack of the World Trade Center.

In the years since, the CT United Ride has "changed focus from fundraiser to New York to a tribute to Nine Eleven," Garrity told The Hour.

Although the ride still commemorates the events of September 11, 2001, funds raised are now donated to charities for Connecticut firefighters and law enforcement, as well as local United Way chapters.

"We show our support for Connecticut while paying tribute to the tragedy of Nine Eleven," said Garrity, a former employee of Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, which once had a facility in Norden Park.

As volunteers and police ushered the thousands of cycles into orderly rows in the Norden Park for registration, bikers and enthusiasts milled about the parking lot and found relief from the August heat under shade tents.

Joe Muro, a retired Norwalker, said he has participated in the ride for about ten years.

"I thought it was a great cause," said Muro, who heard about the ride through friends who had participated in years past.

"(It's a great feeling) when you ride through the towns ... and people are lined up on the street to watch you go by," Muro said, adding that his daughter, Darcie, now participates as well.

Muro said he chose to ride his 2003 Harley Davidson Fat Boy for this year's United Ride, but added that he also owns a custom bike.

"I built it with a friend, locally," Muro told The Hour, displaying a photograph of the bike printed on the back of his iPhone case. "My friend is a technical wizard. I just have the ideas. And the money," Muro added with a laugh.

Eddie Sutcliffe, of Madison, said this would be his first CT United Ride.

"I live over an hour away," Sutcliffe said, adding that he had been wanting to participate for a long time, and this seemed like a good year to finally do it. "Fifteen years is a nice little milestone, right?"

Sutcliffe said that when he isn't riding, he sells tractor-trailer parts from an office in Springfield. The ride back and forth from Madison, including detours to meet friends, added more than 100 additional miles to his route.

Sutcliffe said he appreciates the event for its diversity; "All makes of life here today," he said.

For Sunday's event, Sutcliffe rode his modified Harley Davidson.

"It's a chopped-up old-school Street Bob," Sutcliffe said. "Bought it brand new from Harley, made it my own."

In a shady corner of the Norden lot, a group of motorcycle police from Hamden, Meriden and Wolcott have gathered. They are part of the police detachment that will escort the bikers along the route.

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All police escorts are volunteers, said officer Mike Romanelli of Hamden Police Department.

"We give them a hand. It's for a good cause," Romanelli told The Hour. "We've been coming down since day one."